Barbados removes Queen as head of state

Prince Charles arrives in Bridgetown to take part in the country's celebrations

The country of Barbados is preparing to become a republic, removing Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, ending historical ties with the United Kingdom.

On Monday, the Queen's son, Prince Charles, arrived in the island nation in time for ceremonies taking place on Tuesday - the 55th anniversary of their independence from the British Empire.

The decision to remove the Queen as Barbados' figurehead had been debated for some time, but was announced last year by the Barbadian Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley speaking during the opening of the Golden Square Freedom Park in Bridgetown on Saturday

"The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind," Prime Minister Mia Mottley said at the time of the announcement.

"This is the ultimate statement of confidence in who we are and what we are capable of achieving."

A source at Buckingham Palace said that the idea "was not out of the blue", with Prince Charles arriving in Barbados as a representative of the Queen to take part in the country's ceremonies.

November 30 1966 is an important day in the history of Barbados, as this is when it first became a country independent from the British Empire.

And from Tuesday it will have double significance as it will also be the day that Barbados becomes a republic.

Queen Elizabeth II inspecting a guard of honour in Barbados in 1977

This is not the first country that has chosen to remove the Queen as its head of state.

The last country to do so was Mauritius in 1992.

And it is also not the first Caribbean country and former British colony to become a republic.

In 1970, Guyana made the decision to remove the Queen as head of state, with Trinidad and Tobago, and Dominica following in later years.